Odisha’s Deputy CM Calls For Climate-Resilient Farm Practices To Achieve Nutrition Security

Bhubaneswar: Odisha’s Deputy Chief Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo on Tuesday called for adopting climate-resilient agricultural practices to ensure sustainable production and food and nutrition security for all.

Inaugurating the Climate Resilience Cell (CRC) at Krushi Bhavan in Bhubaneswar, Singh Deo said the cell would help enhance the state’s efforts in building climate resilient agriculture.

The CRC of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment (DAFE) has been constituted for implementation and monitoring of the state action plan on climate change (SAPCC). DAFE in collaboration with international institutional partners plans to create a carbon sensitive policy framework for collaborative research, policy analytics, institutional capacity building and policy engagement and outreach in the backdrop of climate change in Odisha.

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP) are the main knowledge partners.

“IFPRI and CSTEP have been roped in to work closely with the department and support the CRC in implementing sustainable agricultural food systems, building capacity, and advocating for effective policies, Green House Gases (GHGs) emission reduction and efficient irrigation techniques and support in institutional capacity building for sustaining the climate smart practices in future,” the Deputy CM said.

Speaking on the occasion, Arabinda Kumar Padhee, Principal Secretary, DAFE said there is a unique opportunity to meet the larger carbon goals collectively while keeping farmers and citizens’ lives and livelihood protected. “This is a demanding task for which the government is fully committed. This centre defines our collaboration and understanding of multipronged efforts with policies and programmes to meet the sustainable food system goals. This initiative will be funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation without any financial implication to the government,” he added.

Expressing his commitment to the partnership, Shahidur Rashid, Director for South Asia at IFPRI, said, “IFPRI is glad to support DAFE’s endeavors by bringing its globally recognised expertise in agriculture, climate, and natural resource resilience-related policy research. We aim to help build capacities, introduce new innovations, and foster sustainable practices through our network of global centers of excellence, which we will engage with Odisha’s initiatives.”

Prem Kumar Jha, Director, Environment-cum-Special Secretary, Forest, Environment & CC Department; Prem Chandra Chaudhary, Director of Agriculture; Nikhil Pavan Kalyan, Director of Horticulture; Shubhranshu Mishra, Additional Secretary, DAFE and Mamata Pradhan, Research Coordinator from IFPRI were present.